Ever After Awaits (Layla) novel Chapter 39

“Get you hands off me,” I say as I glare at her. I’m getting fed up with her manhandling me han this.

*Listen here you little shit,” her face is so close to mine, spittle lands on my cheek and I recoil instinctively “If you don’t sign these goddamned papers. P send you off to some godawful boarding school in the middle of nowhere where they still believe in corporal punishment

The viciousness with which she hurls those words at me makes me realize she’s completely lost the plot and believes she can just throw me away Sake a piece of rotten food.

“You’d need money to do that, and without me signing those documents, you have no finances of your own to make that happen. And by Michael’s reaction last night to you being abusive to me recently, I don’t think he’ll sponsor that little endeavor of yours.”

I don’t see the hit coming. But in the next instance, my right cheek stings as if stung by a thousand bees. The force of her slap is so intense that I stazzes backward and lose my footing. The next thing I comprehend is my head hitting the corner of my desk as I’m falling to the ground

Everything goes black for a few seconds, and I can hear a faint ringing in my ears. I hold out hope that my mom will realize what she’s done and come my rescue. But I’m shit out of luck.

I hear her huff at me, probably aggravated at me for having the audacity to fall and hurt myself. She then stomps off – slamming my door behind hert with enough force that the artwork on the wall next to it rattles.

Thanks so much, Mom.

I slowly push myself up into a sitting position and lean against the leg of the desk so I can orient myself somewhat.

My head’s swimming and I can feel nausea creeping up on me. Not trusting my legs to walk just yet, I crawl over to the toilet in the ensuite and em stomach from what I ate earlier tonight. Gross.

I sit back against the tub’s side when it doesn’t feel like blood leading from where I fell to where I am.

my insides want to climb out anymore, flush the toilet, and then realize that there is a trail of

Tentatively I touch my fingers to my forehead. There’s a nasty gash right at my hairline and it’s slowly but steadily dripping ruby red blood. Just great!

I try to stand up so I can have a better look, but my legs feel like Jello, and I collapse almost instantly.

How the hell do I get myself out of this mess? I don’t want to call Moira because she’ll be in bed already seeing as it’s past midnight. One of the guys maybe? It’s worth a shot.

Going to my recent call list, Hunter’s name is at the top and I instinctively press the dial button, not having a preference about who comes to help, I just need someone to show up.

As it rings in my ear, I realize two things:

One

–

What if he’s asleep and I wake him up?

Two How do I let him into the house? It’s not like I can go down and open the front door for him.

As I go to end the call, it connects, and a faint shuffling noise can be heard before the person speaks.

Layla?”

“Hunter, sorry to bother you so late, I hope you weren’t sleeping already?” I ask tentatively, hopeful that he won’t be upset about me calling this late.

“It’s Xavier speaking, Hunter left his phone downstairs when he went to bed. *

The fact that I’ve never spoken to Xavier over the phone combined with my suspected concussion is most likely the reason I mistook his voice for Hunter’s,

I immediately feel dejected. Maybe Cade or Al is available though.

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Chapter 39: Layla POV

“Oh okay. Thanks, Xavier, I’ll try one of the other guys then.”

Before I can pull the phone away from my ear and end the call, his voice filters through again.

What’s wrong Layla?”

I honestly don’t know if I should tell him. I don’t have the strength or mental capacity to deal with his douchery right now.

But before I can answer, he says in a commanding voice,

Layla, talk to me.

Not wanting to prolong this, I answer him quickly and ashamedly, “I fell in my room and hit my head. There is some bleeding, but I can’t seem to make my legs work so I can have a look at how bad it is.”

His answer is succinct and catches me off guard.

I’ll be right there.*

Before I can tell him that he doesn’t have to come, that he can just relay the message to one of the guys, the phone disconnects in my ear, making me grunt

in irritation.

This should be interesting.

I must have dozed off because when I open my eyes, Xavier is crouching in front of me with a look of anger and confusion. Maybe a bit of concern as But that can’t be true. Xavier hates me. I’m probably hallucinating from the concussion.

“Hey,” I lamely say because all my energy has deserted me. I just want to get to bed and then sleep for about three weeks. Is that too much to ask?

“What the fuck did you do Layla?” Xavier asks as he scowls at

“Can we just not do this right now Xavier?” I ask, tilting my head back and closing my eyes.

“One, don’t close your eyes. If you have a concussion, which I suspect you do, you can’t fall asleep anytime soon.”

“And two?”

“Two, what don’t you want to do right now?” he asks, sounding dumbfounded

; as he tilts his head like a puppy.

“This,” I wag my finger in the space between the two of us. “Us – fighting, verbally sparring, insulting each other, whatever you want to call it. I just can’t right now.”

I open my one eye to see what his reaction’s going to be and he surprises

me when he gives me a small smile while saying, “Deal.”

“Oh, thank God,” I say relieved, my whole body relaxing with the knowledge that I don’t have to be on guard with him right now.

“Let’s get you up Princess so I can tend to that nasty wound on your head. Do you have any other injuries?” he asks as he stands and holds out his hands for me to take.

“Not that I know of,” I murmur as I lay my hands in his big palms. The sudden jolt of awareness that runs through me like a live wire, makes me pause. But I refuse to look at him to see if he felt it too. That’s a can of worms that can be opened another day.

My legs feel unsteady, like they might betray ne at any moment, but Xavier’s strong grip keeps me upright as I slowly rise to my feet. His hands are steady, reassuring, and he watches me with a careful eye, as if gauging whether I’ll collapse the second he lets go. When he’s satisfied that I won’t keel over, he gently guides me across the room toward the bathroom vanity.

Out of nowhere, Xavier’s hands find my hips, and before I can process what’s happening, he lifts me with effortless strength, setting me on the countertop next to the sink. A startled squeal escapes my lips, my hands instinctively grabbing his shoulders for balance.

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Chapter 39: Layla POV

A little forewarning would have been nice. The brute.

Without a word, he turns to the sink, twisting the faucet until lukewarm water fills the basin, the soft rush of it the only sound in the mall, brightly i bathroom. He rummages through the cabinet beneath the sink, pulling out a mini first–aid kit with a practiced ease that makes me wonder how eltes bes done this. Stepping between my knees, he moves closer. My breath catches, but I force myself to stay still.

Nonchalantly, he steps in between my knees, wets a cotton pad, and starts cleaning around toy wound. After wetting another cotton pad, he wipes the dried blood from the side of my face.

We don’t say a word during the whole process, probably because neither of us is willing to break the comfortable silence that surrounds us. It’s a novelty that I wouldn’t mind recreating in the future because I don’t like fighting with Xavier. He’s the one that always has a stick up his butt when he’s around me.

At some point, his left hand finds my upper thigh, resting there with a casual weight that sends a jolt through me. I try to ignore it, but I can’t deny that it feels… nice. Comforting, even. His fingers are warm, grounding, and I catch myself leaning into the touch just a fraction.

Seemingly satisfied that all the blood has been cleaned up, he finds an alcoholic wipe as he says, “This might sting a little, but I don’t want you to get an infection.”

He leans closer, and gently wipes the pad around the wound, making me hiss out a breath as it burns somewhat. Surprising the fuck out of me, he starts lightly blowing on the area he just cleaned to help ease my discomfort.

Not only does the pain dissipate, but my eyes instantly snap to his emerald ones when my skin erupts in goosebumps and an involuntary shiver runs down my spine.

The look of bewilderment that I see reflected in his eyes suddenly morphs into something completely different when his pupils start to dilate, his breat hitches, and the hand on my thigh suddenly tightens its hold on me.

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